Guarded by thorns
by ClockworkTypeWriter
Summary: Rose has grown up with the scars of the First and Second Wizarding Wars, living in a world where the community is at peace. Amidst her sixth year at Hogwarts, she is already her mother's daughter by biting off more than she can chew. Thrown into the world Marauders and the First War; Rose has a choice, despair at the inevitable, or become the Gryffindor she was born to be.
1. Chapter 1 - Vanishing Act

**A/N: Hi all, name's Bryony and I thought I might try my hand at writing a HP fan-fiction. My first time writing something like this, so any and all feedback is welcome :) I love HP, and apologies if some details are slightly off, but I'll try my best to keep it true. Thanks x**

**PS. I know this starts in Next Generation but its mainly set in the Marauders era, so apologies if there's any confusion.**

****Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and settings belong to J.K Rowling****

Twirling her wand as she daydreamed, looking out the window towards the lake glistening in the autumn sunshine, Rose didn't hear as Professor Flitwick tapped her desk for the fourth time trying to get her attention.

"Oi! Rose!" hissed a voice beside her, a finger poking her in ribs.

Snapping her out from her daydreams, Rose glared at the being from which the voice had come. It had, in fact, come from her best friend Albus, who pointed behind her to what was a rather annoyed teacher.

"Now, Miss Weasley, I trust you are paying attention finally?" said Professor Flitwick sharply.

Rose nodded her head glumly as she lost five points for her house, and gave Albus a somewhat grateful glance before turning back to the lesson at hand. Half an hour later and the students piled out of the stuffy classroom, scuttling off with various friends to lounge around in what was the last lesson time of the week, but a period most sixth year students had free; that was unless you took Divination. Why anyone would bother with such a pointless subject was beyond Rose, as she chuckled to herself quietly, watching a few of her fellow Ravenclaws rush off.

That had been a shock to the family, everyone had assumed Gryffindor would be it for her, as it had been for all the Weasleys and her mother too. It didn't help her cousins were in the courageous house either, but that didn't stop Albus becoming her best friend at Hogwarts; it had been a few months before people had stopped wondering why she had been put in Ravenclaw, breaking family tradition and all, even if she'd proved it with her marks in class.

It hadn't bothered her parents too much Rose thought as she and Albus walked in companionable silence to the Gryffindor Tower. Although she was a Ravenclaw, she frequently spent a majority of her time lounging around the scarlet sofas and comfortable armchairs the Gryffindor common room had to offer. But for all its comforts, it didn't distract Rose from noticing something was a little off with Albus.

"Gargamel" muttered Albus to the portrait of a rather plump woman hanging in the entrance way.

"Cheer up dear, it may never happen" Rose heard her say as they passed on through.

There was barely anyone there except for two third year girls who giggled as they walked past to sit on the sofa. Typical, thought Rose. Albus had turned into quite a striking young man, looking very much like his father did during his sixth year. With his grandmother's famous green eyes, and Harry's scruffy black hair, the only massive difference was the height. Whilst most boys had shot up, Albus was only just taller than the average girl, and this hadn't helped with his self-confidence of late.

Collapsing into the soft padding of the sofa and his things leaning against its side, Albus hid his face into a cushion before leaning back and closing his eyes, as if trying to block out everything. Rose placed her things on the small table in front of them before curling up in the other corner.

"Albus…" Rose whispered after a few minutes, wondering if he'd fallen asleep.

"What?" he grumbled, lifting his head to look at her.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you'd fallen asleep that's all" she said, relaxing into her seat, noticing she felt more comfortable here than the Ravenclaw common room.

After a few minutes more silence, Albus sighed and broke the silence.

"So where were you in Charms then Miss Weasley?" he asked, a teasing tone putting a small smile onto Rose's face.

"I don't know what on earth you could possibly be on about Albus" she said, turning away from him blushing. If he found out she had been thinking about Jonathan Davies from his dormitory she would be toast.

"Oh come off it Rose, I can tell from here that your blushing" he chuckled, shaking his head at her.

"Well I'll talk if you talk, you were a little silent on the way back up from class" Rose said quietly, looking back her cousin. Albus stared at her for a moment and plopped the cushion back in front of his face. Rose was pretty sure she heard something like 'forget it' muffled under the new decoration to Albus' face.

She thought about trying to push him, but it was obvious he wasn't in the mood to talk right now. Instead, maybe he'd be in the mood for a duel of sorts, she thought with a grin. With that grin stretched from ear to ear, she reached for the nearest cushions and hurled one at Albus with such force it almost pushed him off the sofa.

Smothering a giggle, she paled slightly when she noticed the wicked grin he had on his face. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had realised the two third year girls had slipped out, disappointed that Rose hadn't gone back to her own tower, but right now she was more focused on the wizard who was now throwing cushions at her. Diving over the backboard of the sofa, Rose hid for a second, taking a slight reprieve before noticing it was abnormally quite.

Peering over the edge of the sofa's backboard, Rose regretted the action almost as soon as she'd done it. Albus was the second best student in the school at Transfiguration, and had transfigured various books and other odd ends that had been lying around the room into cushions. Cushions that were now all flying directly at her.

Landing in a tangled pile with a squeal of surprise, Rose couldn't help but laugh at the mess she was in. It reminded her of when she and her cousins had been younger, running around the Potter's house when they were kids.

"Rose I was-" a voice coming from the entrance stopped abruptly before breaking out into fits of contagious laughter. Rose chuckled quietly, her head surfacing from under the masses of cushions to see her brother, Hugo, rolling on the floor clutching his sides. Rolling her eyes, she stood up and straightened out her uniform.

"Alright Hugo it wasn't that funny" she said, although laughter was still dancing in her eyes.

"Mhm, sure it wasn't, you keep telling yourself that Rosie" he said, still laughing but at least he was standing upright. Albus shook his head and started tidying up the pile of cushions that Rose had emerged from.

Watching Albus in the corner of her eye, Rose saw a small parcel with a piece of parchment attached to it lying by Hugo's feet.

"Hugo what's that?" she asked curiously, trying to figure out it was from the shape of the package.

"Oh it's for you, from Professor McGonagall. About the extra work you've been doing on Latin and its influences of Transfiguration and other magic?" he said, sobering up quickly and handing it to her. She nodded, reading the parchment over in her head.

_Miss Weasley,_

_Just like I did for your mother, I've acquired a time turner for you to test. I expect to see you in my office just after your Charms lesson today. I would suggest some light reading in the library beforehand though, I have left a particular book with the librarian for you._

_Regards,_

_Professor McGonagall_

Rose's eyes lit up with excitement. Just after Charms meant the professor wanted her to go back in time. Giving Hugo and Albus hugs goodbye, she grabbed her things and raced off to the library as fast as humanly possible; ignoring the fact Hugo was trying to ward her off doing too much as their mother, Hermione, had told them she often had done.

Her mind raced as she read through the lines of the book Professor McGonagall had left her. It was a book on time travel, and there was an entire section dedicated to the influence of not just Latin on transfiguration, but the Italian Peninsular as well. Of course every country of the world had a defined part in shaping the magical community, to find a book that was perfect for the extracurricular work she was doing, well, it made her want to somersaults. Rose felt confident that maybe, just maybe, she would beat Scorpius for the top of the year again. Shaking her head, she turned her gaze back to the book.

One particular phrase stood out to her. Tempus Viator. Time traveller.

"Tempus Viator" she said, testing how it felt to say the words. They sat comfortably on her lips, and feeling a little giddy with the idea that she could be top of the year, she pulled out her wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa" Rose said, levitating the time turner in the air for a moment, which until that point had sat next to the book, and promptly set it back down. Then knowing she'd look a bit daft but thought no harm in it as there was no one around, she made the same wand movement except in reverse. But the other difference she made was the words.

"Tempus Viator" she said loudly with utter conviction, knowing she'd look crackers but she didn't care for there was no one around to hear her.

There certainly wasn't anyone around to hear her. So it follows that no one noticed when she vanished in a screen of silver sparkling mist.


	2. Chapter 2 - A troublesome mistake

**A/N: Just to let you guys know, I'll be uploading at least one chapter a week, maybe more but I don't want this to become a story that takes ages to get an update. From the next chapter, the chapters will hopefully be around 2000 words each roughly :) Thanks x**

* * *

><p>"How long do you think she's been like that?"<p>

"I don't know mate, where did she get those robes? Did the school release a new line or somethin'?"

Flashing her eyes open and sitting bolt upright, Rose found she had been slumped over her desk. But all her things had somehow disappeared. And the desk had less scribbles and dents in it. Looking around frantically, she noticed that to her right two rather dashing boys stood looking at her in confusion.

"Hey Sirius, it looks like Sleeping Beauty's awake now!" said the scruffier of the two, laughing at his own joke.

The one called Sirius cocked his head to the side like a dog, trying to hold back a big grin.

"Well how'd you get here princess?" he asked, gesturing around the library.

"Well I was just doing some study and I –""Why on earth are you studying already? Its only one day into the school year!" interjected the one with black hair.

"Well I'm sorry Uncle Harry but – Wait what?" she snapped out of her annoyance, for Rose got enough pestering from Hugo about her study habits, but what did that boy mean by it being the first day into the school year?

"Harry? Who's Harry? Padf- I mean Sirius you got any idea what she's on about" he said in befuddlement.

"Absolutely no clue James, although she looks a little dazed. Maybe we should take her to Madam Pompfrey?" Sirius suggested, looking at Rose with a concerned look displayed across his features.

Looking again at the two in front of her, Rose realised that it wasn't her uncle, but a boy who looked very similar to him, the main difference being he didn't have Uncle Harry's startling green eyes.

"I'm sorry, mistook you for someone else" Rose said, attempting to get up, before slumping back into her seat due to dizziness.

"Princess you ain't looking so well…" Sirius said, lunging forward just in time to stop Rose falling out of her seat, unconscious. The two boys glanced at each other in what was a mixture of confusion and concern before James shrugged and helped Sirius carry her up to the hospital wing. Once there, and having gone through Madam Pompfrey's interrogation, James headed back to the Gryffindor Common room to get ready for the Beginning of Year feast. Sirius had insisted on staying until the unknown girl woke up, but after an hour or so he caved into the glares he was getting from the matron and left to find James.

* * *

><p>"I don't know sir. Mr Potter and Mr Black brought her up to me just after eleven o' clock. They said she had been unconscious before they found her, she'd woken up rather dazed and then fainted again."<p>

Rose slowly opened her eyes to see the back of Madam Pompfrey as she stood by the end of Rose's bed whilst she talked to a grey haired man who also had his back to her.

"Hmm, sounds like an overworked student to me Poppy, nothing to worry about. She doesn't look familiar though…" he pondered thoughtfully

"I rather thought so too sir, and look at her uniform! There's not a noticeable difference but there is one still there. Furthermore sir, she's not on the school roll." There was silence and Rose started to panic internally. What did they mean she wasn't on the school roll? Why didn't Madam Pompfrey recognise her? Why it was only last week she had come in due a sprained ankle…

"I see our mysterious young lady is awake now, Poppy. Would you mind leaving us for a moment?" the strange man said, having turned around without Rose noticing.

"Good morning my dear, or rather I should be saying good afternoon since it is indeed fifteen minutes past noon," he said kindly, settling himself at the end of her bed. Looking around Rose noticed the Hospital Wing wasn't at all different, and was confused why something's seemed to have changed and others not. Her gaze eventually settled on the man in front of her. He had grey hair, and he had a reasonably long beard, making him look a little like a thinner, more serious version of Santa Claus. She drew her gaze up to his eyes, which were shielded by a pair of worn spectacles; Rose noticed that his eyes seemed to twinkle with vast knowledge and wisdom, and she wondered if that was why Madam Pompfrey had brought him here, to clear things up.

"H- Hello," she said meekly, realising her stomach still felt a little queasy.

"Would you like some chocolate?" the spectacled man asked, offering her a piece of what looked like a muggle chocolate bar. Nodding slowly, she took the chocolate and nibbled at it, still watching the bearded fellow at the end of her bed.

"Now my dear, you probably overheard our conversation and would like to ask a few questions." After a quick nod from Rose, he continued. "As we thought. Due to the irregularity of the situation, it was again assumed, that you would like someone with a bit of authority and experience in dealing with odd occurrences such as the Head of the school, to talk to."

Looking around to see where Professor McGonagall was, Rose was puzzled as to what he meant.

"My dear you look rather confused?" he enquired, a slight frown sketched upon his face.

"Yes sir, I was wondering where Professor McGonagall was?" she queried, drawing her eyes back to him.

"I do not follow. Professor McGonagall is preparing her notes for her Transfiguration classes, and probably getting ready for the feast tonight," said the bearded man in confusion.

"But sir, she is the Headmistress," Rose said, a tone of exasperation edging into her voice as this man obviously didn't understand what she meant. Peering closer at him, she noticed he looked vaguely familiar like someone out of her textbooks or something.

"My dear you are mistaken, Professor McGonagall isn't the head of this institution," he said firmly.

"But –"

"The Headmaster of this school is Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and I am he. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss…?"

Shaking her head as if that would make this confusion go away, Rose looked at Professor Dumbledore in shock, not quite able to take the information in. They sat in silence for a minute, the question hanging in the air as Rose calmed herself to ask one in return.

"Sir, you don't, by chance, happen to have a Pensieve in your office?"

* * *

><p>After Professor Dumbledore had returned from the screened area from behind which sat the Pensieve, Rose sat nervously in a rather comfortable chair on the opposing side of his desk. Sitting in front of her, Dumbledore closed his eyes in thought for a minute or two, before opening his eyes with a glint of what appeared to Rose to possibly be mischief.<p>

"So, Rose Elizabeth Weasley, what are we going to do with you?" he asked, peering at her from across the desk.

"Well sir I still don't quite understand what-"

"Ah yes, let's start at the beginning. You see my dear, you essentially invented a new spell. The arm motion which you performed paints a picture of being lifted back through time. The words 'Tempus Viator', as you very well know, mean 'time traveller'. Essentially you travelled through time." Professor Dumbledore explained, letting the information sink in a little before continuing. "The year is currently 1976 and it is the first day of the school year."

Rose's eyes went wide and her mind started to race. How was she going to get home? Would she ever get home?

"Sir how am I going to get home?" she asked hesitantly, not sure if she was going to like the answer. Dumbledore pondered the question for a moment before answering.

"Well, unfortunately, it looks like for the moment at least, you will be staying with us. The spell doesn't seem to work without the time turner you used, and they haven't been invented yet." Rose's face fell, and she stared at the floor as she started to beat herself up for being so foolish.

"Miss Weasley, whilst I understand your predicament, I suggest making a new start here and making the best of the situation for now. Who knows? The future may not be as scary as you think. Or rather the past," Professor Dumbledore chuckled to himself, starting to write out a note. Rose looked up from the floor, a glimmer of hope dancing on her face.

"Now we shall need a back story for you my dear. Perhaps a godchild of teacher, one that we can trust of course," suggested Dumbledore, looking at Rose imploringly. She shrugged but it didn't matter, for you could have almost seen the light bulb that lit up over Dumbledore's head from a mile away.

"How about Minerva? You seem to know her from your time. And she's a wonderfully trustworthy person!" he said smiling. Rose nodded and that glimmer of hope turned into a spark; maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all. Dumbledore wrote a note to Professor McGonagall apologising for the interruption and would she mind giving him the honour of her presence immediately.


	3. Chapter 3 - New Beginnings

**A/N: Hullo there again. Sorry this wasn't a week on the dot, the internet wasn't loading and my computer misplaced the file. I hope everything makes grammatical sense, I did get it proofread and used word, nothing came up, so hopefully everything's alright. Hope you like it and reviews are appreciated :) xx**

By the time Professor McGonagall arrived, Rose and Professor Dumbledore had created a reasonable background for Rose in order for her to attend Hogwarts so she would be able to fit in more smoothly. She'd have to be from another wizarding school, and the Beauxbatons Academy was the most practical choice for her. Having Hermione for mother, Rose had been to France many times with her family and had learnt some basic French in order to get around easily; therefore she had some knowledge of the country which would make the façade seem more plausible. She was to be half-blood, but her mother was to be a half blood, unlike Hermione, who had left Rose and her father when Rose was five, to go to America.

Her father was to have been a muggle who had raised her until recently when, due to the limitations of muggle medicine, he passed away from prostate cancer. Living on the property that once belonged to Rose's 'grandmother', she and her father had enjoyed a comfortable life until his health complications occurred. This left Rose in the care of her godmother, as she had no living relatives that could be tracked down, who had met Rose' parents on a visit to Beauxbatons.

Her godmother was to be Professor McGonagall, and Dumbledore had kindly offered to provide funds for Rose' 'godmother' to spoil her with. There was a question of last name, as Rose wanted to keep hers but unable to due to the questions that would be asked of the family heritage, and after many suggestions, Rose settled on Vernette as it wasn't too far in the alphabet from 'W'. To make the whole thing as believable as possible, Professor Dumbledore performed a small spell that wizarding actors and actresses used for roles that were of a different nationality. 'Gallico Lingua' gave Rose a slight French accent, so it was the final touch to the display.

As this was explained to Professor McGonagall, Rose watched in nervousness as she saw McGonagall's reactions. First came disbelief, then shock after she had looked into the Pensieve, then came determination.

"Well Miss We –"

"Please Minerva, I think you ought to get used to calling your goddaughter by her first name" Dumbledore interjected, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"Oh if you insist. Well Rose it looks like we will be working together closely together for the foreseeable future. You'll have to be sorted of course, but it will likely be your original house. I will do the appropriate things a godmother is expected to do, but do not expect preferential treatment in class, as it will not be delivered," Professor McGonagall said firmly, not sure exactly how this was going to work, but if Dumbledore insisted, she would follow through with it.

"Thank you Professor, I was just wondering what I am to do about school supplies?"

"Professor McGonagall can provide you with a set of school robes, and after your sorting we'll order the right books, and anything else you might need," answered Dumbledore from his desk, writing something out on a scrap of parchment.

"Now I suggest you both run along, I have some things to attend to before the feast tonight, and I'm sure you both do too," he said, his words seeming to usher them out of his office. The professor and student walked to the bottom of the stairs in silence, both uncertain what to say. They stood there awkwardly for moment or two before Rose spoke.

"Professor, I wonder, have you ever seen the kitchens before?"

* * *

><p>An hour later saw Professor McGonagall and Rose sitting in the kitchens sipping cups of tea and eating biscuits as they talked about themselves, figuring that if they were going to be godmother and daughter, they should know a bit about each other.<p>

"Your mother did what?"

"She took the blame and let her two friends get off scot-free! You were so flummoxed that she had even considered going after that troll on her own" Rose laughed, enjoying the fact she could talk to someone about something that had become a family fable; the first time Hermione went against the rules. She also realised that she kind of liked the way her voice sounded with the French accent, but it was definitely going to take some getting used to.

Rose paused for a moment, realising she shouldn't have necessarily told the professor that story, in case it influenced the event itself. She quietly asked McGonagall to not change her behaviour in that situation as she might alter future event and... Rose started to ramble but the professor interjected, saying she understood and would not change a thing; Rose then relaxed again, loosening the shoulders she didn't realise had tightened with anxiety.

Professor McGonagall shook her head in amusement and sipped some more of her tea before pondering her next question.

"What house were you in?" she asked, unsure what to expect, for this girl seemed to be a real mixed bag.

"Oh I was in Ravenclaw, which threw my family a bit, they were all in Gryffindor, but they still supported me," Rose exclaimed, realising that whilst Professor McGonagall was the only person she could talk to apart from Dumbledore, she wasn't going to see a lot of them when she was sorted into Ravenclaw.

McGonagall saw Rose' face fall slightly and she wondered what was going through that girls head. Deciding it wasn't her place to ask, she suggested that they leave to go and welcome the first years, as it was almost time for the feast. Nodding reluctantly, Rose got to her feet and followed the Professor up to the Great Hall. She wasn't unused to people staring and speculating, but normally it was due to her parentage, however from now on it would be about her, and Rose wasn't too sure how she felt about that.

As the excitable first years trickled in, Rose leant against the wall and stared at the ceiling, similar to how muggle tourists pretentiously admire architecture. She was lost in her thoughts and it was only when Professor McGonagall's call for them to line up to enter the hall did she return to the excitement and chaos around her. At the back as the unusual transfer, she wasn't noticed by the highly energised first years, but she did veer away from one rather pale looking eleven year old that looked mildly nauseous. Finally Professor McGonagall led the way through the double door entrance and into the loudness that was the first feast of the year.

Rose saw a few older students and averted her eyes not to meet their gaze. Instead she scanned the tables for anyone she might recognise from her textbooks, people who might have fought in the first Wizarding war or be famous for a new spell etc. Rose noticed the two boys she had met earlier, and refocused on the Sorting, her cheeks already tinged red with embarrassment from the events earlier in the day.

The Sorting Hat sang its beginning year song and afterwards Professor McGonagall started to call up students to be sorted. There were a few Slytherins, quite a lot of Hufflepuffs and one or two Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, and before Rose knew it, it was her turn to be resorted. Already the other students started whispering, wondering why on earth there was a new student who looked old enough to be in the sixth year. Before Professor McGonagall called her name, Rose recalled she had mentioned that Rose was joining as a transfer from Beauxbatons due to unfortunate circumstances, and that she expected the other students to be as accepting as possible.

Tugging the hat firmly onto her head as she sat on the tiny stool, its speculation filled her head. _Where to put you I wonder? I see you've been a Ravenclaw before, hmm yes a tricky situation your one. Definitely have decent brains, but you have a decent amount of courage in order to walk the path you're on. You have some cunning in there, you'll need that to help you cover up your problem, and Slytherin would help you there. _Rose shouted no in her head as loudly as she could, hoping the hat would listen to her. _Well if not, then I guess it'll have to be _"Gryffindor!" roared the hat.

Rose froze for a moment. She had been expecting Ravenclaw, as her first sorting. But the hat obviously had other ideas, and as she stumbled to her feet, Rose looked up to the teachers table to see Dumbledore wink at her. Shaking her head Rose sat down at the far end of the Gryffindor table as the noise level rose. Focusing on the food that appeared in front of her, she placed some of the bangers and mash onto her plate. Somewhat picking at her food from lack of appetite, Rose didn't notice as the boys who she had met earlier had shuffled towards her end of the table.

"Looks like Sleeping Beauty's in our house James" the hazel eyed boy said, grinning at Rose as she glanced at them. She couldn't really remember their names, but the one who responded to the name James looked a lot like Uncle Harry, she realised.

"Don't you lot go frightening her now," reprimanded one of the boys she hadn't seen before. There were four of them in total. Firstly the two that had found her in the library, both quite attractive and tall. One had hazel eyes and messy black hair, accompanied by a pair of glasses on his nose. The other had hair that made him look a bit like a dog, also black, but whereas his friend had hazel eyes, this one had grey. A part of Rose's brain hope that it had been the grey eyed called,_ what was his name, Simon, Sergey, oh whatever_, that had waited for her in the hospital wing. She quickly shut that thought down and moved on.

Rose turned her gaze to the other two. The boy who had just spoken to her was relatively nice to look at, a little shabbier though and not quite on the same level as the other two, with green eyes and brown hair. The smallest of the group was rather round, with pale blue eyes and mousy brown hair, and Rose thought he looked rather like the mouse of the group. They all looked rather familiar now that she thought about it...

"My names Remus, and this scraggly lot are James, Sirius and Peter," said the green eyed one, who had taken the seat next to her, and pointed out each boy respectively. The rest of themselves shuffled as they got comfortable, Sirius and James sitting across from her, and Peter took the seat next to Remus. After a few minutes of awkward silence filled by eating, James broke the silence.

"Doesn't speak much this one Sirius"

"Well James she spoke plenty earlier-"

"Maybe then dear Sirius, she doesn't know how to-"

"Maybe it's our good looks that have made her speechless-"

"Yes that must be it!"

"Oh for goodness sakes, you two are full of yourselves, aren't you?!" Rose retorted, finally reaching the point at which exasperation could not contain itself. The pair of boys looked at each other and burst into laughter. Rose, a bemused expression highlighting her features, shook her head and turned to Remus.

"They always like this?" she asked, again noticing her French accent stressing the syllables differently. It was definitely going to take some getting used to. But where on earth had she seen them before? The question was bugging her to no end.

"Oh definitely. If you hang out in the common room enough, you'll never hear an end to it. Or in class for that matter. Or anywhere in general," Remus listed, chuckling to himself quietly.

"Maybe I'll be lucky enough to be in a class that doesn't have Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in then," she muttered, but still loud enough for the boys to hear her as she took a bite of her meal. Peter and Remus chortled, but James and Sirius put looks of mock offence onto their faces.

"Excuse me James but did she just-"

"I believe she just did. How dare you say that? We'll have you know-"

"That we are absolutely wonderful company in class, and we are not full-"

"Of ourselves thank you very much!"

They turned to each other and gave themselves a big high five. Rose rolled her eyes, it looked like she had found a new Hugo and Albus, at least in terms of finishing each other's sentences. The boys across from her were still talking about how clever they were when Sirius stopped midsentence and pivoted in his seat like a robot to face her, raising an accusing figure at her.

"Hey when we saw you earlier you didn't mention that you were from France!" he said with mock seriousness on his face.

"And you didn't have no accent neither!" James said, pitching in.

"Well it does come and go sometimes, and I had only just met you, why on earth would I tell you where I'm from? Ever heard of stranger danger? Jeez you guys are morons," Rose mused, her eyes daring them to retaliate. James retreated, nodding in appreciation of her sass capabilities, however Sirius wasn't as appreciative. Whilst Remus and Peter watched with silent interest, Sirius attempted to engage Rose in further conversation.

"So Rose, I think that's your name right? What made you come to little old Hogwarts?" he asked, leaning across the table to grab some of the bread rolls.

"My father passed away," she said, looking at her food, feeling rather uncomfortable with the lie. The mood immediately plummeted from playful to downright sombre.

There was a period of silence as no one really knew what to say. The boys all looked at each other, unsure of how to continue, but before they could say anything, Rose got up from the table with a look of shock and realisation, and left towards the teachers table. The boys, in their discomfort, hadn't noticed her panicked glances at each of them before she left, and wore puzzled looks on their faces, glancing at one another in a mixture of concern and confusion. After murmuring a few words to Professor McGonagall, and receiving a slip of paper, Rose left the Great Hall looking rather pale.


	4. Chapter 4 - Towers, Friendship and Paris

**A/N: Sincere apologies for the late update. With exams and assignments its all been a little hectic but I'm going to write up a few extra chapters so that I can keep up with releasing one a week as of this week. Hopefully GBT will be updated every second to third Saturday as from today and apologies again for the delay. Thanks to Pysco-babydoll for pointing out something I had almost forgotten and let me know what you think of Mary's accent - should I bother writing it in or does it distract from what she's saying too much? Sorry if grammar isn't 100% perfect, I got it proofread and word checked it, but I wanted to upload it as fast as possible. As always feedback is always welcome :) Thank you x**

Rose managed to make it out of the Great Hall and around the corner before collapsing into the nearest alcove in shock. She felt so stupid, Rose, who prided herself on her smarts, hadn't even realised. She had just met James Potter. As in the James Potter. Her uncle's father, James Potter who died at the end of the First Wizarding War. And those other boys must have been the Marauders. Rose tried to focus in on her breathing, trying not to hyperventilate. Her mind however was not cooperating, and was racing ahead. What if she altered the course of history? One simple mistake would be enough. What if she did something that altered her parents ever meeting?

Shaking her head, Rose pushed those thoughts from her mind. It wasn't going to get her anywhere, and she needed to fit in if she was to stay here for the foreseeable future. Although that was going to be hard, knowing a lot more about the Marauders from tales passed down through the family than she would know if she was a normal student, let alone a transfer. "Well leaving the hall earlier was a great way to make subtle entrance into school, wasn't it Rose?" she muttered to herself.

"Talking to yourself is somewhat considered the first sign of madness you know"

Looking up from her spot on the ground, Rose saw looming over her was a girl with fiery hair and forest green eyes. The girl held out her hand, and when Rose took it, she pulled Rose to her feet.

"You're Rose right?" she asked.

"Right first time. You are…?"

"Lily, Lily Evans. Gryffindor Prefect and daily sufferer," the red head answered, giving Rose the once over. Rose's eyes widen when she realised who she was talking to. Was she doomed to keep bumping into every single important person she was related to, whether it be by blood or marriage?

"Daily sufferer?"

"Of that lot in there. I hope they didn't upset you too much, they can be a lot to handle. Especially Potter," Lily said, concern colouring her voice as she noticed Rose go another shade paler if that was even possible.

"Are you alright Rose?" she asked, just as Rose leant against the nearby wall for support. Lily looked around and saw no one else had come out from dinner yet.

"Maybe I should take you to Madam Pompfrey," she said gently.

"No, I just wanted to get out of the hall, so many people, I just wanted to head up to my dorm… although now thinking about it, I don't know where that is," Rose replied, thinking quickly as it would suspicious if she knew too much about the castle.

"Well you'll be in my dorm silly. Gryffindor remember? I'll walk you up now if you like?" Lily said chuckling. Rose nodded and the two set off for Gryffindor tower. The walk wasn't long, so the awkward silence wasn't drawn out for as long as it could have been.

As they drew near the entrance, Rose realised sadly that she had only passed through this very portrait a few hours ago. Or a few decades later if you wanted to be technical. Rose missed what the password was but she wasn't paying attention as they walked through into the next room.

Rose was standing in the middle of a highly familiar room that didn't seem any different from when she had last been in it. The common room was still its vibrant scarlet, and glittered with gold furnishings, a vibe of warmth and loyalty filling the room. Lilly shook her head in amusement as Rose stared, and grabbing her arm, lured Rose away from the warm common room and up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

Making Rose close her eyes, Lily opened the door and guided her into the middle of the room. Blinking her eyes open, they filled with wonder as she looked around the dormitory. There were five poster beds with a cabinet by each, all decorated to the taste of the person who occupied that sleeping area. There was one directly opposite the door that was somewhat bare compared to the others, and a part of Rose was very excited at the prospect of making that small area her own.

"Hey look, they've dropped your trunk off already," Lily said, pointing to the trunk that was lying on her bed.

"But I don't- Oh never mind" she said, laughing lamely to cover up the fact she had almost said she didn't have a trunk. Lily had collapsed onto what must have been her bed, leaving Rose to venture to her own.

Sitting down on the left side by the cabinet, Rose faced the trunk in puzzlement. On top was a sealed letter, signed by McGonagall herself. Opening the letter anxiously, hoping for some news on a way to get home, Rose sighed as she was disappointed.

_To Miss Rose Vernette_

_I hope you will enjoy your dinner in the Great Hall and get sorted where you truly belong. In this trunk is a set of school robes, with magically altered emblems, so depending on the house you enter, they will shift to accommodate. Also in the trunk are some articles of nightwear and underclothes, toiletries, as well as the general school supplies._

_I have also taken the liberty of putting a few 'memento's' into the trunk as you will notice, to give you support. To make this work as well as possible, I would like to invite you to have afternoon tea with me every second Sunday at 3 o'clock beginning this week. I would love to get to know my goddaughter better, so don't be afraid to ask if you need anything._

_Professor McGonagall_

Rose smiled at the Professor's thoughtfulness and setting the letter aside, she opened up the trunk. Littered around the surface of the trunk were touristy things you'd expect from a gift shop in France. The French flag, an Eiffel tower figurine, an Eiffel tower key chain, charm bracelet with the Fleur de Lis and the Eiffel tower and the Arc de Triumph hanging off it, two books on French art and some photo's that looked like they had been taken in Paris. Rose flipped some of the photo's over to see if there was a caption and realised these must have been taken by McGonagall herself on an actual trip to France.

Putting the miniature version of the Eiffel tower on her bedside cabinet, Rose spent the next half an hour putting things up around her bed. In her trunk she also found a dark brown messenger bag which she hooked her keychain onto. Lily was lying on her front watching Rose hang things up, and occasionally got up to give her a hand with putting up things like the flag which now hung on the wall in between Rose's bed and Lily's. They had stuck the photos to the bedpost by the cabinet and Rose decided to pin the Gryffindor banner above her headboard.

Standing back to admire her handiwork, Rose's smile dropped slightly as she realised all these 'memories' weren't real. One of her goals, she decided, was to take enough photos so that this small area, that was now her sanctuary, would contain real memories.

Then there came a knock on the door from behind her. Turning around nervously as Lily said "Come in," Rose quietly observed the girls who entered.

The first was a rather short, round faced cheerful looking girl with chocolate brown hair in a pixie haircut, porcelain skin and brown eyes. _She looks more like a French person than I do _Rose thought mournfully, absentmindedly twirling her red locks around her index finger.

The girl that followed was slightly taller than the average teenage girl, with her long blonde hair tied back into a pony tail. She had a bonny smile and blue eyes that were a paler shade than Rose's. The last girl come through the door had raven black hair, brown eyes and wore a blue bow in her hair. She was reasonably tall, at least a head taller than the first girl, and smiled broadly at her. Lily got up and started on introductions.

"Rose this is Alice, she's a cheeky little spitfire who is rather clever at charms and sucks at Transfiguration," Lily started, mischief sparkling in her eyes. Alice laughed and shook hands with Rose who had gasped slightly at the name of the person in front of her. Surely this was Neville Longbottom's mother? She sure looked like him, and her smile produced the same dimples his did Rose thought as she drew comparisons to the Hogwarts Professor of Herbology who had come round to dinner many times.

"And this bonny old lass is Mary Macdonald. Be careful though in Potions, she tends to melt her cauldrons," continued Lily, gesturing to the second girl who had walked into the room.

"Oh Lily, you've alw'ees 'nown 'ow to make a girl 'eel special now 'aven't ya?" Mary replied, her strong Scottish accent coming through.

Lily finally introduced Rose to Olivia, the last girl to walk in. Olivia's parents had met when her father had been on business to Thailand when he met Olivia's mother; her father had quit his job after staying there for 7 months, and brought her mother home to England where they got married another 9 months down the track. Rose thought this was all rather romantic but it was obviously old news to the other girls who didn't find it as interesting as she did.

They all sat on Rose's bed, wanting to know about this mysterious girl from France instead. Lily joined them warily, giving them a look that warned her fellow roommates not to interrogate Rose.

"So Rose, why'd ya move to lil ole England?" Mary asked, glancing at the pictures that were dotted around the bedframe.

"Yeah Rose, weren't the French boys cute enough for you?" Alice teased, her smile infectious as Rose pondered the easiest way to answer Mary's question.

"Well you see, my um father was a muggle, and he passed away from a muggle disease quite recently. I have no relatives alive that could take me, so my Godmother was made responsible for me-"

"McGonagall?" Lily interjected.

"Yes, um how did you know?" asked Rose. Lily shrugged "I'd recognise her handwriting anywhere," she answered and gestured for Rose to continue. But before she could, Olivia interrupted as well.

"But what about your Mum? Surely she could take care of you?"

"Well that's a problem you see, she left for America when I was five, and the authorities couldn't track her down or anything," Rose said, fidgeting as the discomfort of lying set in. The girls around her glanced at one another with concern, a look the Marauders in the Great Hall had similarly shared earlier. Rose shrugged it off.

"I'm really sorry girls, but it's been a rather long day for me. Do you mind if I turn in for the night? It's been lovely meeting you all but –"

"It's alright Rose we understand," Lily said smiling as she got off Rose's bed. "Shower is the door on the right and we usually work out a roster somewhere in the first week to stop catfights," she added as the other girls went off to their own beds to settle down for the night.

Nodding, Rose opened up her trunk which she had shoved at the end of her bed, and got out her the nightclothes packed. Getting changed quickly, she hopped into bed and turned over to face the miniature Eiffel tower. As she quickly drifted off out of exhaustion, Rose wondered what it would be like to go up the Eiffel tower and what Paris was actually like.


	5. Chapter 5 - A Charismatic Charm Failure

**A/N: A day late, my apologies. My rabbit passed away this morning and last night this chapter hadn't wanted to upload, so it took until quarter to midnight on Sunday to upload. Bit emotional right now, but I hope you enjoy the chapter, I enjoyed writing this one but I'm looking forward to the upcoming chapters even more. Let me know what you think, and constructive criticism would be amazing! :) x**

It was the usual hustle and bustle in the Great Hall the next morning at breakfast, and for a moment Rose was able to pretend she was still back in her own time, but that illusion came crashing down with the arrival of the Marauders. Sitting down noisily, the four boys helped themselves to the grub on the table, shovelling the food in as if their lives depended on it. Lily rolled her eyes, and nudged Rose as Peter started to choke on his food laughing at something James said.

Rose laughed to herself quietly and focused on eating her food, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself after leaving abruptly last night. When they had finished, all the sixth years were called to collect their timetables from Professor McGonagall.

Standing behind Lily in the line, Rose twirled the end of her braid that had flopped over her shoulder impatiently. Finally she heard her name called and went to sort out her classes.

"Now Rose, based on your, um, record from Beauxbatons, I was wondering which classes you would elect to take?" the Professor asked, shifting slightly at the minor lie. Rose was a little taken aback by the first name usage but then remembered the agreement they had come to in the kitchens; they were family now, they needed to act like it. Rose felt a little uncomfortable but they had settled on Rose's first name and calling the Professor 'Aunt Minerva'.

"I'd like to take Ancient Runes and Transfiguration, as well as Potions, Charms and Defence against the Dark Arts of course." Rose answered, pondering her other options. After deliberating for a moment, she added two more subjects to her list, as well as using the opportunity to test out the name for McGonagall.

"Aunt Minerva, could I fit in Care of Magical Creatures and History of Magic as well please?"

Professor McGonagall nodded, and with a flick of her wand, the parchment that previously laid blank now had Rose's timetable filled out. Moving along, Rose studied it carefully, oblivious to the fact the some girls, who didn't particularly like Lily, had stood behind her were now debating who was more of a freak, 'Evans' or 'the weird new chick".

Heading off to what Rose was sure to be an enthralling morning of double charms, she didn't notice that the Marauders were also heading in that direction. As she wandered off to class, Rose wondered if it counted as cheating that she had already done the first part of the school year.

* * *

><p>Grumbling to herself, Rose got up and moved her things to the seat next to Sirius Black. He and James had been mucking around from the start of the first period, and by the beginning of the second, the Professor was sick of it, and switched Rose and James over. Having been quite comfortable in her seat next to the quiet and seemingly kind Remus, she was slightly annoyed but also curious about sitting next to Sirius. Uncle Harry hadn't liked to talk much about Sirius, but her other relatives had been more than happy to share about the mysterious marauder.<p>

Rolling her eyes as she slumped into her new seat towards the back of the class, she thanked her lucky stars that she had a bit of prior experience with the topic matter of today as she couldn't hear very well. Sirius was in what could be called a funk as he no longer had his partner in crime to converse with, and Rose was somewhat put out by the fact he didn't say a word to her.

"Sod him anyway" she muttered as she walked out of class when the bell rang. "He seems to be a rude jerk anyhow." Not looking where she was going, Rose managed to walk into a very solid object, dropping her books to the floor.

"Look where you're going filth!"

"Sorry!" she squeaked, looking up to see what looked like a Sirius lookalike looming over her.

"So you should be, now I'll have to get my robes disinfect-"

"You were saying Regulus?" a voice came from behind Rose.

Sirius stood there, staring his brother down as Rose looked down and hurriedly picked up her books. She scurried off round the corridor as she heard Regulus say something about a "filthy impure half-breed" which she took to be herself. A few moments later Rose heard someone calling her name.

"Oi, Vernette!" It turned out to be Sirius, who was jogging to catch up to her.

"Oh hi," she mumbled, slightly embarrassed that Sirius had stuck up for her.

"He didn't hex you or anything right? Didn't hurt you?" he said, concern colouring his voice.

"No I'm fine, thank you for stepping in but you really di-"

"Regulus was out of line." Sirius interjected, as he fell in step with her as they walked to the Great Hall for lunch. "And as his brother I feel somewhat responsible for his actions, as much as it pains me to admit any relation to that certain individual," he added, with what seemed to Rose a half-hearted attempt at humour as they entered the bustling hall.

They sat down in companionable silence until Lily burst through the doors in one of her tirades about "Potter being a complete and utter toe rag". Rose turned her attention away from Sirius and tried to sooth Lily out of her anger, whilst trying simultaneously laugh about how obvious it was that the fiery redhead fancied James. Whilst the two girls were talking, they didn't notice the best friend of Lily's tormentor shuffle further down the table as the rest of the Marauders filed in

Olivia, Alice and Mary got up from where they had been sitting further down, and joined in on consoling Lily who was only a shade less red than when she had entered.

It turned out that after Charms James had pulled Lily aside to ask her about something that the teacher had mentioned in class. Lily, wanting to see the best in people, obliged and ended up facing a wall with a banner that read 'Evans go out with me?". After having ranted at 'the complete and utter abysmal excuse for a human being', she had stormed off towards the Great Hall in a fruitful effort to find her friends.

After the storm subsided, and the girls managed to convince her to eat something, they all headed off to History of Magic. They formed a protective distorted circle around Lily as they passed James, who attempted to talk to her but was brushed aside by Olivia, whose eyes flashed a warning that said back off. As they left Rose heard Sirius say "Honestly Prongs, don't you think that was a little far gone this time?" and she snorted at the thought of Sirius giving such advice.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the group as they moved their way to class, Rose dwelled on a rather amusing story that Harry had told her on one of the rare occasions he opened up about his parents and their friends. It had been about his godfather and father in their sixth year of Hogwarts, and how some girl part of the Sirius Black fan club had smuggled some love potion into a box of Halloween chocolates that were left outside the Marauders dormitory on Halloween. Being used to this, he threw them in the bin, however Peter being none the wiser ate the whole thing when he got up the next morning. After waking the others up in order to pester them about the location of this girl, Sirius had a brain wave.

Suggesting that she was down at the Black Lake, he got the other two to pretend they had eaten the chocolates, and all four of the went down to the lake with banners that read 'DANIELLE GO OUT WITH US'. Someone up in the castle saw the signs and by the time word got round to Danielle a rather large crowd had amassed by the water.

Danielle was laughing with her friends and looked rather pleased with herself, and whilst walking up to them as if they were on display for inspection, she said a flippant comment about whether she should go for James Potter to annoy Lily Evans.

Sirius decided the game was up and doused her with a stream of water from his wand. He then told her rather loudly that she was one of the only people in the castle he would rather date the Giant Squid over going out with them. He then revealed the only person who truly out of the four of them would go out with her was Peter, and suggested that Danielle try for someone who had the same brain and devious streak as her, such as a Slytherin.

She burst out into tears, and ran up to the castle with her friends following close behind. A lot of people were startled and Sirius received a variety of looks. They ranged from congratulatory to disgust and he realised he maybe shouldn't have gone that far. Sure she had annoyed him, but maybe this Danielle girl from Ravenclaw didn't deserve that level of public humiliation.

Rose chuckled to herself as replayed the story in her head, and didn't realise that a single tear had crept down her cheek. As she caught sight of the tear in a passing window, she gave herself a little shake and wiped it away before anyone else noticed.

They got to class on time and as it had been in her time, the History of Magic was a dreary lesson, even more so as Rose realised like Charms, she had already covered this content. Leaning back in her chair, Rose closed her eyes for a few moments.

"Rose!" a voice called, someone shaking Rose awake.

"Huh? What, sorry, pardon?" she said blinking her eyes open slowly to find Lily who had been sitting next to her withdraw her grasp on Rose' shoulders and continue packing up.

"Class is over silly, we have Transfiguration next. I hope you don't plan to sleep through that one too!"

* * *

><p>Being able to complete the Protean Charm due to already learning it, Rose was helping Olivia and Mary who were struggling slightly, who were slightly frustrated they hadn't gotten the hang of it by the end of class.<p>

The group of girls trudged down to the Great Hall, exhausted from a first full on day of classes (or not if you looked at Rose). The boys were nowhere to be seen, which could be taken as a sign of trouble but they were much too tired to be concerned over the presence or lack of it coming from the Marauders.

As they left the Great Hall, Rose was looking at her feet when she heard Lily scream and the others gasp. Looking up in time, Rose saw Lily turn three shades of red before screaming "POTTTERRR!"

Rose shook her head. "Oh merlin here we go" she muttered as she took off in the direction of the fuming redhead.


	6. Chapter 6 - A Mixed Bag

**A/N: I'm terrible I know, I meant to post this last week but I ended up travelling, and in the end had no internet - that's my longwinded way of saying I'm really sorry for the late update. I'm considering writing from Rose' POV from chapter 8 onwards, let me know what you think :) I haven't completely edited this chapter, but I wanted to get it up in time to somewhat celebrate the merriment. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope you all had a fabulous day and enjoyed yourselves. As always, feedback is much appreciated :) xx**

**Also I got my first question from KyuubiNoPuma and whilst I really want to answer whether or not Rose helps out in either of the Wizarding Wars, it would be as River Song puts it; spoilers :P **

Being a redhead herself, Rose wasn't actually used to the adjective 'fiery' being applied to her person, but she could understand why it was being used to describe on Lily.

Potter had conjured what looked like curtains from a muggle theatre and as Lily had exited the Great Hall, he had the open to reveal the words "I'm sorry Evans" made out of fairy lights. Lily had, of course, flown off her rocker at him, ignoring the fact he was trying to apologise and yelled about his lack of propriety as well as his 'evident lack of brain cells'. This had turned into a yelling match between the two of them as James took offence, feeling his apology had been completely appropriate.

"Evans why is this such a big deal? I-"

"YOU KNOW WHY! HOW DARE YOU PUBLICLY HUMILIATE ME AGAIN AFTER-"

"Evans please calm down, this is not me trying to humilia-"

"DON'T YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN YOU ARROGANT IMBECILE!"

"Well at least you've expanded your vocabulary from toe rag,"

"DID YOU JUST MOCK ME POTTER?! AT LEAST I HAVE BRAIN CELLS WHICH YOU HAVE AN EVIDENT LACK OF –"

"I WAS TRYING TO APOLOGISE LILY AND I'M SORRY THIS ISN'T THE APOLOGY YOU WANTED BUT-"

"-AS WELL AS A LACK OF MANNERS AND PROPRIETY-"

It wasn't long before Professor McGonagall had come along and separated the two of them, who had gotten very close to pulling their wands out, and made James take down his apology, literally. She instructed the girls to take a very tired Lily to her dormitory, and Rose glanced back over her shoulder to see James gesturing wildly looking very upset, with his mates trying to console him.

* * *

><p>Lily spent half an hour ranting and crying and then some more ranting again before she calmed down enough to take a shower. Whilst she was in there, the rest of the girls sat on the ends of their beds in silence. Even after Lily came back into the room, it was Rose, finding the silence almost unbearable, who spoke first.<p>

"Did anyone else hear James call her Lily?"

"Oh my god yes! I wasn't sure if I was imagining things or not!" Alice agreed, nodding eagerly.

"Who gives a shit, honestly, he's an arrogant toe rag and I want nothing to do with him," came Lily's voice from under her covers.

"You don't mean that Lily. He made a mistake and he was just trying to apologise," Olivia said, trying to soothe Lily's feelings. Alice nodded fervently in agreement, even though Lily couldn't see her doing so.

"Maybe his apology wasn't the most appropriate but-"

"Most appropriate? Would it have killed him to have just spoken to me in private? Would have really been such a big deal for JAMES STINKING POTTER TO HAVE TREATED ME LIKE A HUMAN BEING INSTEAD OF AN OBJECT AND ACTUALLY TALKED TO ME?!" Lily retorted, ending up storming into their shared bathroom in a whirlwind of rage and tears again.

They all sat in silence for a moment, before Rose once again broke it.

"Should we go check on her or something?

"No darl, just 'eave her alone for 'ow, this 'appens on occasion," Mary whispered quietly, as if Lily might hear her through the bathroom door. The other girls in the dormitory turned their attention to homework and reading, but Rose couldn't shake the feeling there was something more to Lily's outburst this time.

She got off her bed and tentatively knocked on the bathroom door. Rose heard what she thought was a muffled "Who is it?" to which she replied saying "It's Santa Claus… Who do you think silly?" She heard a small chuckle in reply and to her surprise the door actually opened.

When Rose slipped through the door, closing it behind her as she did, she saw Lily sitting under the sink, curled up in a ball tucking away her wand which she had used to open the door. Rose walked over to her slowly and sat down opposite her, leaning against the bath. They sat in companionable silence for a moment, whilst Lily slowed her breathing.

"Lily…"

"What?" she mumbled, glancing up at a concerned looking Rose.

"Do you, um, get panic attacks?" Rose asked hesitantly. It was a sensitive topic for a lot of people, she should know from experience, but it was important if she was to get anywhere with Lily that she knew then and there.

"How did you know?" the other redhead asked, unfurling herself and shuffling so that she was sitting next to Rose by the bath.

"Well you were trying to control your breathing, you were also trembling when I first came in, and I'm pretty sure if I took your pulse, your heart would be racing faster than the Harpies on liquid luck" Rose said, trying to make it sound more light hearted than it was. She hadn't been one hundred percent honest; the main reason she knew was because Lily had been curled up in the exact same position that she, Rose, had been in many times herself.

Lily chuckled quietly, but it was at least five more minutes before either of them said anything.

"I started getting them around third year. To be honest, I've always been a worry wart, but that's when it really hit. My parents took me to a muggle doctor, feeling more comfortable with that, than taking me to St Mungos, and they diagnosed me with a 'General Anxiety Disorder'. The school knows about it, but I haven't told anyone…" Lily explained, feeling a weight lifting off her shoulders as she spoke.

"Well until now that is," she added, a small smile forming as Rose took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Lily, if you ever need anyone to talk to, or need someone there if a panic attacks happening, you can always count on me…" Rose said slowly.

"Really?" Lily said cautiously.

"Sure, I mean, these sorts of things are better to go through with someone to hold your hand, and I'd rather you have me around than work yourself and have no one to help you through it."

Suddenly Lily threw her arms around Rose and gave her a massive hug. After taking a second or two to realise what she was doing, Rose returned the embrace, feeling for that maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all – which was kind of funny, considering the exact same thought had just gone through Lily's head too.

* * *

><p>The two red heads had stayed in the bathroom for a good three quarters of an hour before they decided to venture beyond its safety. The other girls had gone off to various places, with the exception of Mary who had turned in early for the night.<p>

Lily and Rose ventured up to the library with their study things, not surprised to find in mostly empty. Rose glanced over longingly to her favourite desk that sat by the window overlooking the lake, but sat down at the end of a book shelf that could seat up to four students. They worked in silence, Rose finishing after half an hour, laughing to herself quietly at the unoriginal or lazy streak in teachers with homework as she came to the realisation that the questions Professor Binns had given were the same as when she originally started sixth year.

Rose doodled for a few minutes on a spare bit of parchment before glancing over at Lily with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"So Lily, I get James doesn't have the best way with manners…" Lily snorted at that, "but honestly, have you not admitted to yourself that you're smitten?"

Lily flashed her a glare, to which Rose couldn't help but burst into laughter at, almost falling off her seat. "Oh come on Lily, we all know you don't think he's all that bad…"

"He's not," she replied, and Rose looked shocked that she openly admitted it.

"But I am not, I repeat am not, smitten with James bloody Potter," Lily stated clearly, but Rose could tell by the pink tinge on her cheeks that Lily was no longer convinced herself, lowering her ability to conceal it.

"Sure you ain't Lily, just remember if you lie to yourself too much, you might actually start to believe it, then that poor boy will be back at square one all over again," Rose smirked, poking her tongue out at Lily's scowl of disbelief.

They were so immersed in their conversation, that they didn't notice Remus Lupin sitting two desks away shaking his head in amusement at the information he could report back to the boys. He discreetly picked up his things and trotted off out of the library to find James.

After another half an hour, they headed up to the common room, and sat on Rose' bed as they continued their conversation from earlier.

"Alright Miss-Love-Doctor, if you're so knowledgeable about my love life, who are you smitten with?" Lily asked, poking Rose in the stomach.

"Jeez Lily I've only been here a few days, it takes a girl a while to appreciate the goods when window shopping," she replied, the pair of them tried to smother their laughter as to not wake Mary up. But it didn't work.

"What thee hell ees 'appening?" she grumbled, her hair all over the place and her eyes half closed.

"I was just asking Rose whether she likes the look of any of our Hogwartian men," Lily giggled, jumping out of the way as Rose threw a cushion at her. Now perched on her own bed and in relative safety, Lily continued.

"Anyways I was wondering what you thought of our well behaved gentlemen," she said, glancing at Mary as if to ask for back up. Taking the hint, the Scottish girl went on full charge.

"Well eef you're gonna look at thee most attractive boys at 'ogwarts, then just look at thee Marauders. Well not at Peter, but 'ts not like 'e can 'elp it," Mary said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Well James is out too, he has eyes for no one but Lily," Alice said, springing into the room with Olivia in tow. "What are we talking about exactly though?" she asked as an afterthought.

"Just asking Rose here what she thinks of our masculine specimens," Lily replied.

"Oooh, what about Sirius or Lupin then? They're reasonably good looking," Olivia chipped in, lying on her bed on her stomach. Alice nodded in agreement, going slightly pink, making Rose wonder whether Alice had a thing for one of them.

"Lupin's smart too, and seems a little more level headed then the rest," the pixie haired girl added, leaving little doubt in Rose' mind that it was Lupin Alice was smitten with.

"Look ladies, I don't need fixing up with any of the guys here just yet. I just want to get settled in first," Rose interjected, laughing at their enthusiasm but feeling very much included and loved.

"But we have the Yule ball this year! You have to go with someone, it's a travesty if you don't!" Olivia exclaimed as she got ready for bed.

Lily rolled her eyes; "Rose doesn't need to worry about that right now, what we should worry about is the fact we've been up longer than we thought and its midnight," she said, which urged everyone to hurry to bed.

Before going to sleep though, Rose scrawled a quick letter to McGonagall, thanking her for her help, and wondering if it was too much trouble to ask for a diary and a wizarding camera.


	7. Chapter 7 - Just a sprinkle of romance

**A/N: So I just finished this one and thought I'd upload now as a bit of an apology for my lateness in the last upload. Apologies for some of the name mix ups in the last chapter, I guess its what I get for writing late at night. I'll fix those soon, but a bit of a shout out to HT188 - your comment made my day and was part of encouraging me to get this chapter up so soon. Hope you enjoy. Enter new characters and scene! :) xxx**

Peck. Peck. Peck.

Brushing her hands drowsily across her face, Rose tried to stop whatever was pecking at her, but stifled a little gasp of surprise when her hands came into contact with a bundle of feathers. Blinking her eyes open, she realised it was an owl, which upon noticing that she had woken up, hopped off Rose and fluttered over to each of the other girls to wake her up in turn.

Dragging herself upright, Rose realised there was a brown paper package at the end of her bed no bigger than an A4 notebook in the muggle world. Leaning over, determined not to get up properly, she struggled to reach the package, her fingers grazing the very tip of it. With a sigh, she scooched over a few centimetres, making the package within her grasp.

Opening it as quietly as possible, Rose peered into the parcel to find the camera and diary she had asked for. "Took long enough, I wonder if McGonagall has a diary" she chuckled to herself at the thought of the stern professor spilling out her secrets to a journal. The note attached explained the camera was an older model that McGonagall had kept around for sentimental value, and was a loan until she could place an order for Rose, as camera's were popular at the moment and not cheap.

It had been a week since she had first started classes at Hogwarts (again). And Rose hadn't been finding it too difficult to get along. Admittedly people still whispered as she walked past, but that came with the newbie territory.

As for her roommates, they had accepted her into the fold but she found she often retreated to the library to give herself some space. It wasn't easy, keeping a massive secret likes hers hidden, but the harder part was that Rose felt she was keeping part of herself hidden. She had to watch what she said, who she spoke about and not reveal anything too personal – especially since she might be leaving at any moment.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realise the Lily had been talking to, or rather at, her for the past two minutes.

"ROSE!" she shouted, making the girl jump with fright.

"W-what?"

"I was asking you whether you have a free period before Potions this morning."

"Oh yeah… um.." Rose answered, still off in her own little world and was on a slow decline back to reality.

"Earth to Rose? Hello? Was that a yes you have another class?"

"No sorry, I don't oops, off with the fairies I suppose," Rose smiled.

"Well since Mary and Olivia have Herbology, so do you want to go over our potions essays on Golpalott's Third Law?" Lily asked, getting up and ready for the day.

Rose nodded and got up herself, drifting off into her thoughts again, wondering what was going on in 2022 and how they were coping without her…. She quickly shut that thought down, there was no use in working herself up when she had a full day of school ahead of her, especially with double Defence Against the Dark Arts after lunch, and Professor Merrythought had warned them that today they would be facing their fears in what would be a practical lesson.

Lily, Rose, Mary and Olivia walked down to the Great Hall noisily, leaving Alice still half-dressed after trying to get changed for twenty minutes. Declaring her a hopeless case, they agreed to meet her down in the hall for breakfast.

The topic of discussion today was the fact Sirius Black had asked out Daeva Shafiq on Monday, and the fact they hadn't fought yet and it was Friday was a good sign. Mary pointed out they hardly had any classes together and didn't have much of a chance to fight with one another.

At first Rose was confused, what on earth would they have to fight about so soon and after knowing each other on a romantic front for such a small period of time?

"You see Rose, Sirius doesn't date girls properly. Sure he'll take a girl out, show her a good time, but it's mainly to keep those bunch of idiot girls who follow him around at bay. He'll date someone for a few days, maybe weeks, a couple of months even, but only until he gets bored of whichever girl it is. Then he'll start picking at her flaws and starting fights until he, being the 'saint' that he would like us to believe he is, feels he has no choice but to break up with her because they're always fighting." Olivia said, giving a lengthy explanation, but the emotion in her eyes gave Rose the idea that this was an experience Olivia was possibly familiar with.

They all started taking bets on how long it would last, Olivia giving him a week tops, Lily saying that whilst he was just as bad as James, he couldn't be that horrid and said a month, Mary said, or rather mumbled through a mouthful of food, that Sirius wouldn't last the week. Rose quietly smiled to herself in amusement, wondering how Sirius would take it if he knew what they were discussing.

Speaking of Sirius, where was the noisy boy and his attention seeking friends? Rose glanced at the clock and after a few minutes, dragged Lily away from the Great Hall to go to the library, just in time to see Alice coming down the stairs still looking slightly bedraggled.

As they sat down at a random table, Lily pulled out her essay and got to work, annotating it as she went with muggle post it notes.

"Um, Lily, won't the Professor mind you've stuck muggle bits of paper all over that?"

"Nope, I only do these for me, I take them off, then I duplicate the essay, put the post it notes on the duplicate for me so I'm prepared for exams and hand in the original," Lily said proudly.

"Makes sense…" Rose trailed off, gazing over Lily's shoulder at her favourite table. She didn't know why she was drawn to that seat, but she certainly didn't like the fact someone else was sitting there.

Rose shook her shoulders, as if brushing off some invisible force, and got out her own essay. After ten minutes, they swapped their essays, when suddenly Rose had a note land in her lap that seemed to fly over the bookshelf behind them. The thrower chortled at the girls startled gasps and left the library before they could see who it was. Opening it, Rose said with a laugh "I give it two months."

"Huh?"

"I give it two months before they have a big fight and things end," Rose said, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Why's that?"

"I don't know how, but I feel Sirius might have gotten the message he has something to prove," she chortled, handing over the note to Lily.

"How on earth did Daeva find out? And from Peter of all people? I mean we weren't being massively secretive but she's in Ravenclaw and was at the other end of the table, whilst Peter-"

"Wasn't even there," Rose finished for her.

"Damn, and we already put galleons on it too, otherwise I might have taken your estimate," Lily said, handing Rose the note back. They went back to comfortable silence before Lily's curiosity got the better of her.

"Who chucked the note?"

"Hm?"

"Well they only signed with J, there are plenty of people in this school with a name that begin with J…"

"Oh, yeah, it was from Jack Thornton, in my Ancient Runes class," Rose replied, not looking up at Lily but going slightly pink as she continued to skim read her friends essay.

"You mean the really quiet yet handsome guy who sits in the back of the classroom?"

"Hm? I guess so."

"Oh. My. God," she whispered.

"What?"

"YOU TWO WOULD MAKE SUCH A CUTE COUPLE," Lily squealed at a pitch Rose was sure only dogs could hear.

"Keep your voice down you noodle, I told you, I'm not interested in dating anyone, anytime soon. You got that you nutter?" Rose said back, eyeing her friend with obvious distrust. Lily nodded but only last five minutes before breaking the silence.

"So would you go out with him?"

"Uggghhh!"

* * *

><p>Potions came and went, and Rose' stomach was grumbling up a storm.<p>

"Oi, Vernette, is that your stomach I can hear?"

Rose groaned as she recognised the cocky tones of the voice belonging to none other than Sirius Black, the little arrogant twat himself, who fell in step next to her.

"Yes, and I can't make it stop… so lunch sounds good right now," she said, quickening her pace.

But before she had taken two more steps, a hand grabbed her arm, stopping her from going anywhere.

"What do you want Black? I'm hungry and food is beckoning," Rose grumbled, giving him a hard glare. A small part of her brain, a little voice, that Rose had come to name as LAST (Laughter At Stupid Things) pointed out she had picked up on the tradition of calling people by their last names, especially the Marauders. For some reason LAST found that amusing, but was overpowered by the hunger Rose felt in her stomach.

"I just wanted to ask, is it true? That people say that sort of stuff about me? Because from what I've heard, people I thought who wouldn't spread things they don't understand, have been doing so"

"What stuff?" Rose asked, deciding to play the innocent card, widening her eyes and pulling a puzzled expression onto her face.

"Uh, never mind…" Sirius trailed off, eyeing her suspiciously as he let her arm go and watched her walk off towards the Great Hall. As soon as she was out of his line of sight, Rose burst into laughter, and couldn't stop, even when she sat down by Lily and the others. After relaying her story to her friends about how she had bumped into Sirius, she tucked into a hearty lunch, but when Lily brought up Jack Thornton, it took all her willpower not to spray her food everywhere.

"Lily, don't start making things up now…" Rose warned her, glaring at her as she took a sip of water to clear her throat.

"Alright never mind," Lily said, backing down. This somewhat was perplexing to Rose, as she didn't get why Lily suddenly stopped pushing.

"Wha-"

"Hey Rose, could I have a moment?" a voice came from behind her.

She turned around to see Jack standing behind her with a bemused look on his face.

"Um, alright," Rose said, shrugging her shoulders at her friends, one of which was giving her a massive grin and thumbs up whilst the rest looked puzzled, as she followed Jack out of the Great Hall.


End file.
